


Infredible

by angelwing (orphan_account)



Category: Cucumber | Banana | Tofu (TV)
Genre: Ableism, Established Relationship, Fluff, Josh is Autistic, M/M, Possible Universe Alteration, Slurs, literally this is just fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-19
Updated: 2015-05-19
Packaged: 2018-03-31 06:58:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3968743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/angelwing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I love you too, Freddie!” he said happily. He reached up and covered his mouth in a bashful attempt to hide the wide grin on his lips. “I- I really do, you’re- you’re just so-” He looked away, cheeks a deep red now, thoroughly overwhelmed and embarrassed and incredibly in love.</p><p>Freddie stared with a sort of disbelief, as if unable to believe that this pretty boy in front of him was real, and said, “God, you’re cute.”</p><p>-------------</p><p>Freddie and Josh have been dating for a little while, but both are new to the concept of having a relationship that actually lasts. While out on a date one morning, Josh finds himself the center of some negative attention, which Freddie is less than happy about.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Infredible

It was a beautiful day. The sky was blue and bright and the streets of Manchester were bustling, people talking happily among themselves, stores and restaurants open and inviting, music and food at every corner. It was the perfect day for an afternoon date. At least, Josh thought so, which was why he had called and invited Freddie out for lunch.

Or rather, _Sophie_ thought so, which was why she had texted Josh a bit earlier _telling him_ , so that he could invite Freddie out for lunch. Sophie was better at traditional “romantic” things than he would ever be. Just having a boyfriend that lasted was new territory that Josh was still figuring out how to navigate.

Now they were walking down the street together. Josh happily held onto Freddie’s hand, swinging it a bit. There was a skip in his step and his hair, strawberry blond and curly, bounced as he walked. Currently, he was going on about something Freddie could not easily follow - Something about the cute boy on the telly last night and how disappointing it was that he hadn’t ended up with some other cute boy. As he spoke, his eyes, huge and dark and wide, wandered thoughtlessly through the city, eyeing and admiring all of the sights.

Freddie found himself smiling absentmindedly. Josh was still talking, occasionally turning back to Freddie to make sure he was definitely paying attention, before going back to looking around and talking animatedly, swinging his and Freddie’s hands between them. Something about him was so endearing, so sweet and _cute_ and honestly just _amusing_ , and Freddie was staring at him, the smile widening on his lips.

“I fucking love you,” he said it almost jokingly, but he did mean it, and Josh went silent instantly as he heard the words leave Freddie’s mouth. He turned, those huge, wide eyes staring straight at him now, long eyelashes brushing over his cheeks as he blinked before continuing to stare. Freddie didn’t like how red his own cheeks turned. Trying to play it cool, he gave a weak little laugh and added, “What? I mean it.”

Josh took a moment to process the words. They had stopped walking now and he was beginning to grin, and he was bouncing on his heels just a bit. “I love you too, Freddie!” he said happily. He reached up and covered his mouth in a bashful attempt to hide the wide grin on his lips. “I- I really do, you’re- you’re just so-” He looked away, cheeks a deep red now, thoroughly overwhelmed and embarrassed and incredibly in love.

Freddie stared with a sort of disbelief, as if unable to believe that this pretty boy in front of him was real, and said, “ _God_ , you’re cute.”

Josh gave up trying to hide his grin in his hands and instead, in a desperate attempt to process the sudden surge of intense emotion, he shook his hands, waving and flapping them with excitement and happiness. He was bouncing more now, and he let out a little giggle along with, “Y- You’re cute too, Freddie. You’re a lot cuter than I am, if you ask me. Your hair is really, really nice, and- and you have a really nice smile-”

Josh was rambling again, this time about how attractive he found his boyfriend, and Freddie watched with a bewildered grin. Josh didn’t really try to hide the fact that he was autistic, not since moving to Manchester (he had been considerably less open about that back home apparently), but he also was not _openly_ autistic. And he didn’t stim very often. Freddie had only seen him do it a few times now, when he was _really_ happy.

Although, to be fair, Freddie made Josh _really_ happy a lot. And that wasn’t an innuendo. Josh loved everything about Freddie, and when Freddie showed affection of any kind, Josh had trouble controlling himself. Literally.

So here he was, bouncing and flapping, babbling about Freddie’s hair now, how soft it was, how nice it felt to run his fingers through when they made out. Freddie really didn’t know what to do, or if there was anything to do, but Josh was cute as hell and the strawberry gold curls on his head were bouncing even more than usual, and he ended up simply standing and staring as Josh poured out all of his thoughts about him at once.

Freddie’s attention wasn’t pulled from Josh until he heard a chuckle and a voice from behind them mutter, “Yeah, him. D’you see ‘im?”

Curious, he turned, and found himself staring at a small group of guys talking amongst themselves. One of them was pointing in their direction, and Freddie frowned.

“Freddie? Fred-Head? You listening?” Josh gave Freddie’s shoulder a nudge, noticing that his attention was no longer on him. Freddie turned back around, forcing himself to forget about the men. They might have been talking about something else. They weren’t any concern to him.

Freddie smiled at Josh and leaned in to give him a kiss on the nose, apologetically and teasingly. Josh’s cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red at that and he giggled. “Sorry. Got distracted, what were you saying?” He grinned, unable to help himself. “Something about how much you like my hair, right?” He ran a hand through it, fingers moving easily through the soft blond waves.

Josh bit his lip, looking like he was using all of his strength to stop himself from giving too much of a response, knowing he was being teased and wanting to avoid taking the bait. But he failed miserably, letting out a giggle and bouncing on his heels again. “I can’t- I can’t believe you’re even here right now, putting up with this like this. You’re so- You’re so _perfect_ and you’re…” He shook his head, hands shaking and rocking back and forth at his side now, the gesture more subtle this time but still noticeable. “You’re incredible, Freddie.” Then his eyes lit up and he laughed aloud. “ _Infredible._ ”

His own words made him start bouncing again, still overwhelmed by Freddie’s public displays of affection and teasing as well, and he went back to the less subtle flapping of his hands once more. Freddie watched, rolling his eyes, amused by his boyfriend and admittedly pretty smitten, when he heard murmuring pick up behind him again. He willed himself to ignore it, told himself that it didn’t matter what they were saying, it didn’t concern him, when one voice from the group in particular seemed to break through, and Freddie’s eyes went wide.

“Fucking _retard_.”

Freddie’s eyes found Josh first, staring at him with concern now, watching to see if he had heard. He apparently hadn’t, because he was still bouncing, still laughing, unaware. Freddie glanced back to the group of guys now, still there, still laughing and pointing.

At Josh.

They were laughing at Josh.

It took a moment for the realization to sink in, but when it did, pure _fury_ erupted in Freddie. He took in a deep, trembling breath. The anger on his face was clearly apparent because Josh, who typically had trouble detecting other people’s emotions, instantly noticed something was wrong. “Are you… Is everything alright, Freddie?” He wasn’t bouncing anymore.

Freddie took in a deep breath and shook his head. “I.. One moment, Josh.” He forced a smile, because he knew that Josh would worry he had upset him somehow and he didn’t want him thinking he had done absolutely _anything_ wrong, before turning and walking to the group of guys. Josh watched, brow furrowed in concern but not saying or doing anything.

“Something the matter, mate?” asked one of them as Freddie approached, a grin on his face.

Freddie wasn’t grinning. “What were you saying about my boyfriend?” Stay calm, he thought. He was aware of his own temper, aware that it could get out of control sometimes. He didn’t want a fight. At the very least, he was glad that he could be unashamed about his sexuality in this scenario. No covering up who Josh was, how he mattered to him.

But he wasn’t the only one lacking shame. “I was laughing because he’s fucking retarded. Surprised a guy like you’d even bring him out in public.”

Freddie had heard similar backwards compliments before, was used to “surprised that a guy like you would…” type comments. Because he _was_ attractive, he was good at making himself appear not only socially acceptable, but desirable. And usually he tried his best to accept it as the compliment that it was. But he felt no pride now.

“We’re just on a walk. And I’d appreciate if we could be out without assholes like you who think laughing at strangers is a fun way to spend an afternoon.” Freddie glanced back to Josh, who had a look he couldn’t read on his face.

There was some laughter from the group. And another guy called out, “On a walk? What’re you, his service dog?” That caused even more laughter, and Freddie used every ounce of willpower to keep from blushing.

Hands clenched into fists at his side, he snapped, “Can you not just fuck off?!”

“Can you?”

Freddie was surprised to feel hands at his chest. Too surprised to react fast enough to keep said hands from shoving him harshly, causing him to nearly fall backwards. He kept himself upright, but not without taking a few steps back to steady himself, and once he was solidly on his feet again he stared with wide eyes and renewed hatred.

“Go back to yer owner, service dog!”

There was more laughter, and one of the guys in the group waved his hands, mockingly mimicking Josh’s earlier movement. Another barked, and Freddie raised an arm, ready to turn the confrontation physical, ready to quite literally attack all of them, when he felt a hand grab his wrist.

“Freddie, c’mon.”

Freddie turned and met large, dark eyes and golden curls. Josh stood, a frown on his face, stubbornly holding onto his wrist to keep him from striking. “It’s not worth it, Freddie, c’mon.” he said again, tugging gently. “We’re not far from your flat, yeah? Why don’t we just head back?” Freddie was keenly aware of the hushed voice Josh spoke in and the way he kept his eyes fixated on him and not the men he had been about to start a fight with.

A soft sigh left the older blond. “Y- Yeah, yeah. Fine.” He gave a nod and lowered his arm. “Come on.” Josh smiled a bit at that, hand sliding from Freddie’s wrist to his hand, taking it in his own and walking forward.

xxx

Freddie was silent when they got back to the flat. He said he had no opinion on what to watch on television, wasn’t interested in any snacks in the pantry, and he gave nothing but a soft hum when Josh snuggled up against him on the couch.

“What, are you still worried about the dickheads from earlier?” Josh asked, laying down beside where Freddie sat and resting his head in his lap. He let out a little giggle when Freddie’s hand moved to his hair, absentmindedly running his fingers through the soft curls, petting and playing with it.

Sighing, Freddie opened his mouth to reply, but he was interrupted before he could start with Josh adding,

“It’s not like it’s anything new. You learn to just ignore it.”

“You shouldn’t have to just ignore it.”

“What’s the better alternative? Let it get to me and be too afraid to go out with my boyfriend in public because some assholes with too much time on their hands want a good laugh?” Josh smiled up at Freddie and shifted a bit, enough to be able to kiss his hand. “I dunno. I spent eighteen years in the closet, Freddie. I’ve spent enough time worrying about shit like how others see me, I think.”

Freddie nodded. He could at least relate to that, he supposed, to an extent. His hand went back to Josh’s hair, continuing to play with it. Josh watched him, gazing up at him lazily for a bit, waiting for him to say something. When he remained silent, the redhead rolled his eyes and attempted to get him to talk by continuing on with, “I do appreciate the concern, though. Really. It feels good to see a cute boy ready to start a fight for you.” He grinned.

“Yeah?” Freddie chuckled. “Spoiled brat. You don’t deserve me.” He gathered a handful of the curled front of Josh’s hair and gave it a light tug. “You also don’t _need_ me. You seem pretty capable of taking care of yourself. So don’t get used to it.”

Josh squealed and shoved Freddie playfully. “Well, I _want_ you. Isn’t that good enough?” He sat up and placed a kiss on Freddie’s cheek, but was quickly shoved over again.

“No. If anything it’s suggestive as hell and makes you sound like a horny teenager. Or just really gay.”

“Well, I _am_ both of those things.”

_-end_

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I need to apologize because this is like? Subpar at best? And I don't even know why I literally spent 4 days on this piece of crap and I just.. I like the final result but I don't LOVE it. To be fair in my defense I'm working on a huge In the Flesh fic for a project right now that's just reached 55 pages and 27k words so I kind of am devoting a lot of my time and energy into that...
> 
> But hey, enjoy it if you can, right? I am well aware that these two don't end up together and apologies for not giving any sort of explanation here as to how they got back together I just... I just really wanted to write about Josh and Freddie being happy boyfriends and Josh being an autistic gay nerd. I really love these two a lot ok.
> 
> (also for those who don't know, stimming is an autistic thing where you make a repetitive movement of some sort to cope with intense emotion!)


End file.
